Apparatus for making cup-leathers.



R. MILNE.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CUP LEATHERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. K916.

1,288, 1 1 1. Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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R. MILNE.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CUP LEATHERS. APPLICATION FILED suLY 26.1916.

Patented Dec, 17, 1918.

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R. WHLNE.

APPARATUS FOR MMUNG CUP LEATHERS.

APPLSCATEON FILED JULY 26. ms.

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E, MlLNE, APFARATUS FGR ffiMUNG CUP LEATHERS. APPUCJJWN man JULY 26,1915.

Patented Dc.1?,1918.

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ROBERT MILNE, 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WARD PUMP COMPANY, OF

ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CUP-LEATHERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Application filed July 26, 1916. Serial No. 111,463.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT MILNE, a citizen of the United States. residing at Rockford. in the county of lVinnebago and State of Illinois. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for lifaking Cup-Leathers of which the following is a specification.

his invention relates to the manufacture of cup leathers that are employed as piston packing in pumps, and has more particular reference to the manufacture of cup leathers by means of automatic machines such as are described in the Collins and Trostle Patent No. 1,183,956 and Milne Patent No. 1,184,004.

hese machines will automatically form a blank of leather into cup shape by a spinning and pressing process, and my present invention is designed for use in connection With machines of this character and especially with that described in the Milne patent, which is particularly adapted for forming relatively large size cup leathers, Which are more difficult to manufacture than the smaller sizes.

It has been found that, because of variations in the quality and character of the fibers of ordinary commercial leather, due to the different prccesses, of curing and also to location in the hide, the leather blanks when formed into cup shape by the automatic forming machine mentioned are not all uniform. that is, they do not all retain a perfect cup shape after leaving the machine since those of certain quality have a tendency to flare out slightly. This objecticn may be remedied in some cases by lengthenint the time of Working and forming the cup leather in the machine so as to insure perfect dr ing and setting by the spinning and heating operation. But since this is not necessary for many blanks the increased time of making each cup leather unnecessarily reduces the productiveness per time unit of the machine.

The primary object of my invention is to prm'id-e means for increasing the productivec't' automatic cup leather manufacturing apparatus and for securing Well formed and uniform cup leathers regardless of variations in the fibers of the leather.

Another object of my invention is to provide apparatus for manufacturing cup leathers, consisting of a'machine for forming a blank of leather into cup shape, preferably by a spinning and pressing process, and a machine for resetting and fixing the cup leather in the desired shape after it has been removed from the forming machine. In accordance With my invention, cup leathers delivered from the forming machine in a somewhat flared and non-uniform shape will be retired in the desired shape by a simple compressing and forming process in the src 0nd machine. In other yvords. all cup leathers after being formed from a blank in one machine are immediately put into a reshaping machine which recompresses and sets the cup leather into the desired shape. This second machine Which co stitutes a finishing machine permits the first machine to be speeded up so that the time required for forming each blank into cup shape is reduced to a minimum and those cup leathers Which are not'fully and perfectly formed in the first machine are po itively fi"ed in shape and finished by the second machine.

A further cbject is to provide in combination with an automatic machine for making cup leathers. a machine for reshaping and forming cup leathers that is automatically operated'in timed relat on with the r-t machine, so that the apparatus may turn out a larger number of uniform cup leathers per hour than has been heretofore possible with only a forming machine. It follows that apparatus of this character re duces the cost of producing cup leathers.

Further objects reside in various features of construct on a d arrangement of the reshaping irachine which together with the attending advantages thereof will be fully under tood by reference to the following description WlIGII considered in connection with t e following drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a front elevation ofn cup leather forming machine combined with my improved reshaping machine;

' view taken on the line cup matically forming-a cup leather from ablank Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view looking at a portion of the left hand side of the forming machine shown in Fig. 1, of the cam connection between theforming and reshapii'ig machines;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of my improved reshaping machine;

Fig. 1' is a sectional view taken on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the machine;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View in elevation looking at the right hand side of the machine as shown in Fig. 6;

. Fig. 8 is-a plan sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 3; and Fi -.9 .is' an enlarged vertical sectional 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In this invention 1 have provided, generally stated, apparatus for-manufacturing leathers, comprising. means for autoand means for reshaping the formed cup leather. In illustrating. the apparatus on the drawings, 1 have shown but a single view of a machine for automatically forming cup leathers, this machine being fully shown and described inmy Patent No. 1,184,001, men tionedabove. It should be understood, however, that my improvements contemplate the use of any machine for fori'ning a blank of leather into cup.

shape in connection with certain improvements described hereinafter whereby to secure the objects prefaced above.

The forming machine designate generally by reference character 11, is adapted to automatically form a blank of leather into cup shape by a spinning and pressing process, bevel the edge of the cup, true, polish the outer face thereof, and set the fibers in cup shape .by a. compressing and frictional heating process as is fully described in the said Milne patent. in performing these steps, the rotary male or compressing die 12 cotiperatcs with a female die or cup leather holder contained within the table 13. Since the machine is automatically and continuously operated, anequal amount of time is spent in forming each blank into cup shape but because of variations in the fibers of the leather some blanks should be worked longer than others to insure that they will retain the desired cup shape after leaving the machine. Since blanks requiring longer operation are comparatively few in number and not hardly detectable before commencingthe forming operation, it is not feasible to set the machine to operate on each blank the maximum period of time demanded by the exceptionally obdurate blanks as this would materially decrease the productiveness of the machine and correspondingly increase the cost of production. a

with an integral toothed assen I have found that by tempering the blanks to a minimum extent, setting the forming machine to operate on each'blank a minimum length of time and then reshaplng the cup leathers after removal. from the forming machine, not only a. material reduction in cost of manufacture is obtained but the cup leathers after removal from the second machine are uniform in every respect and Wlll retain their shape. Thls reshaping machine 1s operated 1n timed relatlon with 'a forming machine so that they work an synchronism and one operator may easily at- 1 tend to the operation of both.

The construction and operation of the reshaping machine is as follows: A suitable. base 1 1,'supported in this instance by three pair of upright side columns 17 disposed at the front of the machine andoverhanging a marginal portion of the rotarytable.- 'lShe ,table'lo supported in spaced relation above the base 1st by a central support and bearing 18 and a marginal support 19, the latterbeing disposed intermediate the columns 17,

has fixedly secured th reto a pivot bolt 21 loosely journaled in the bearinglS, as shown in Fig. 7, and is provided on its upper face face 22 with which a correspondingly toothed element 23 loosely mounted on the bolt 21 cooperates. By this means a ratchet driving connection is established between. the table 16 andthe member 23, which is the driving element of the clutch and is shaped to provide a segmental gear 24: that meshes with a rack 25 slidably mounted in a horizontally disposed frame extension 26 rigidly secured to one of the side columns 17. A contractile spring 27 connecting one end. of the rack 25 to the outer end of the extension 26 constantly urges the ratchet member 28 in a countercloclmvise direction, viewing Fig. 8.

against the tension of the spring 27 to rotate the clutch member 23. and rotate the table in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 8, by means hereinafter described, it being desirable to rotate the table intermittently in equi-distant movements, that is, in step by step movements to different stations. V 7 Referring to Figs. 8 and '9, it will be observed that the table is provided in its top facewith a plurality of cylindrical sockets 28 which constitute cup or female dies. At the bottom of each socket is disposed a disk seat 29 having a slightly conical upper face as shown in Fig. 9 and a depending shank 31 slidably fitting-in a bearing 32 in the table and projecting beneath the depending boss of the bearing. ihese seat members 29 normally rest on the bottoms of the sockets as shown in Fi 9 but may be raised to a The rack may be moved to I ,termittently position in which their cone faces are substantially flush with the top of the table. This raising. of the members 29 is eliected by a stationary inclined cam 33 secured to the bed 14 and arranged at one side of the machine in the path of the depending ends of the shanks 31, so as to elevate each seat member 29 as its shank is moved over the cam by rotation of the table and to lower the seat member by a r verse incline before the cup receiver in which the seat is located has reached a loading station, which is in this instance intermediate the columns 17 The cup dies 28 are each adapted to receive at the loading station a cup leather pressed into the die by the male or plunger die as will be presentl described. A. cup leather is pressed into the die at this point with considerable pressure, so that the dies compress and very positively set the cup leather in its desired shape. Upon with drawal of the plunger die, leaving the cup leather in the female die, the table Will be rotated in step by-step movements bringing the remaining cup receiving dies successively to the loading station, so that during the interval that the cup leather is being car ried away from the loading station and until it is ejected from the die by raisingof the disk seat 29, it had had sufficient time to become fixed in a desired shape by a drying process. This drying may be accomplished by a natural drying action or through some heating medium contained within the table 16. For this purpose'the table is of a hollow construction and adapted to contain hot water or an electric heater.

The male or plunger die, designated generally by reference character 34, secured to the lower end of the plunger slidably mounted in bearings 36 interposed between and bolted to the columns 17, is connected by means of a pitman 37 to a crank shaft 38 journaled in the bearings 39 on the upper end of the column 17. Suitable means may be provided for rotating the crank shaft inin single revolution movements whereby to reciprocate the male die in press ing and retracting strokes. Any suitable clutch driving means may be employed for rotating the crank shaft 38, and in the pres ent instance l have illustrated somewhat briefly a clutch drive commonly used in punch presses and similar machines. It consists oi. a drive pulley 41 loosely mounted on the crank shaft 38 and adapted to be fixedly connected thereto by means of a dog 42 slidably mounted to move axially of the shaft 38 in a collar 43 fixed to the shaft at the outer end of one of the bearings 39, the dog being constantly urged by a spring (not shown} into engagement with a toothed internal face on the pulley 41 as is well understood in clutches of this character. The

dog 42 is normally held out of driving engagement with the pulley 41 by means of a lever 44 pivoted at 45 to the standard 17 and provided with a beveled end 46 that is held by means of a contractile spring 47 in an annular groove 48 in the collar 43, as shown in iigs. 4 and 5. When the beveled end of the lever is swung downwardly out of the groove 48 so as to withdraw its engaging end from the portion 49 of the dog 42 that extends into the annular way 48, the dog will be moved by its spring into engagement with the pulley 41, thus connecting the crank shaft to the pulley so that the two rotate together. Upon releasing the lever 44, the spring 47 will return the lever, into position in the annular way 48 so that the projecting dog portion 49 will engage the inclined bevel 46 and be moved thereby out of en gagement with the pulley 41, thus breaking the driving connection. The clutch driving device may be 01 suitable design and is operated by the forming machine mentioned in the early part of the specification. Referring to Figsl 1 to 4 inclusive, it will be seen that a connection is established between the main cam shaft 51 of the forming machine and the lever 44, comprising a lever 52 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the frame of the forming machine and adapted to be actuated at one end by a cam 53 on the main cam shaft and pivotally connected at itsopposite end with the lever 44 through the intermediary of a link 54,1ever 55 fixed to a leg 15 cit the reshaping machine, link 56, lever 57 and link 58, which in turn is connected to the lever 44. This connection might be established ClllGOlZ-l between the drive clutch and cam shaft 51 but the present arrangement is suitable for the two machines when placed relatively as shown in the drawings. By reason of this connection, the shaping machine will be put into operation at predetermined intervals by and in timed relation with the forming machine, which operation will be described more particularly hereinafter.

Referring to Fig. 3, a stop rod 59 slidably mounted in bearings 61 integral with one of the columns 17 is adapted to project at its lower end into the path of the bloc rs 62 fixed to the top of the table 16, so as to prevent rotation of the table in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 8, when a cup-receiving die has been moved into alinement with the compressing head. A pin 63 on the upper end of the rod 59 limits the lowering movement thereof and the rod may be raised from stopping position by a lever 64 pivoted to the adjacent column 17, and disposed between a roller and pin mounted on the rod 59. The outer end 65 of the lever 64 is adapted to be raised by the raising action of the plunger 35, and for this purpose a.

finger 66 pivoted to a collar 67 secured to the plunger 35 is prevented by a stop 68 against pivoting in a counterclockwise direction viewing Fig. 3, and urged by a spring 69 against said stop. This finger 66 is adapted to spring out of the path of the end upon lowering movement of'the plunger and to engage the said end 65 upon initial upward movement of the plunger so as to qui kly raise the'rod59 fromengagement with theadjacent block 62.

During the balance ofthe raising movement of the plunger after the male die has cleared thetop of the table the plunger is employed to rotate the table in the following manner.- Referringto Fig. 6,a rod 71 slidably mounted in bearings 72 secured to. the adjacent column 17 is connected at its lower end to the rack 25 through the intermediary of a chain 73 engaging a guide pulley 7i mounted on theinner end of the frame can tension 26; The collar 67 on the plunger is provided with an extension '75 embracing the rod 71' upon which extension a. collar 76loosely mounted on the rod is held seated by an'expansionspring 77 that is interposed between the said collar 76' and collar 7 8 fixed to the rod. Under the influence of the contractile spring 27-theconnectionbetween the rack 25 and the rod :71 is held taut, since the said spring holds the collar 76 seated on the extension 7 5. Upon lowering movement of the plunger the table clutch element 23, will'be slipped backwardly over several notches by the influence of the spring 27, this movement being limited by the lowering movement of the extension 7 5. Upon raising the plunger the said extension acting through the resilient connection between the same and the rod 7luandv the clutch connection between the rack and table will rotate the latter a distance to move a new cup receiving die. to the loading station. it being obvious that during such raising movement of the plunger the; finger (56 becomes disengaged from the lever 64:, permitting the stop rod 59 to drop into position to stop the table. With regard to the connections just described, it should be understood that I do notlimit myself'to the particular mechanical expedients shown for effecting the several steps since variousother means might be equally well employed.

Referring now to Fig. 9, the compressing head 34: consists in general of two members, viz: a head supporting member secured to the plunger 35 and a head slidably mounted on the said supporting member. The supporting member may consist of a body 79 having an externally threaded extension 81 threaded into a socket in the end of the plunger 35 and being provided with a depending annular flange or guideway 82. The head consists of a block, 83

'the slots 85.

.und-erface and a lock nut 89 are threaded the cup leather 7 producea somewhat acute angle at the cor} distance slightly greater of a cup leather so'as to cut out-the center to its. lowermost 1 position,

close proximity to slidably mounted within the flange 82 carrying a diametrically extending pm 84, the ends of which project through axially extending slots 85 in the flange 82 and are secured to a sleeve 86 slidably mounted on the outer 1 wall of the said flange 82; An expansion spring 87 interposed between-the plunger 35 and block ment of the pin against the lower ends of A ring 88 having a bevel onto the upper end of the sleeve member 86. lhe head just described constitutes a 83 constantly urges the head I downwardly to a position limited by abutmale die of which the peripheral wall of the sleeve '86 is adapted to shape the inner wall of-a cup leather and the beveled face of the ring 88 "to engage the bevel of the cup and serve as a means for axially compressing the flange of the cup leather so as to eifectively 'setthe fibers in the cupshape. The

underfaces of the members 82, 83 and 86 are shaped to conform to v the slightly conical. face ofthe disk seat 29sothat the center-of will be dished inwardly to ner of the cup which-tends to better secure the cup in the desired shape. An annular Knife 91 iix'edlyi secured of the block83 projects beneaththe' samea than the thickness to the-periphery thereof when the compressing head is forced the top of the disk 29 having a suitable'soft metal face so as not to blunt the edge of the knife.

St centering device is employed for holdmg a cup leather in position at the loading o 7 with the plunger from the side columns 17. secured in the aperture of beveled at its upper end so as tapered mouth or seat adapted to receive a cup leather. A cup leather placed on this seat will assume 'a central position with respect to the die even though the wall of the cup leather is somewhat flared. By supporting a cup positioned that the compressing properly engage it leather will be evenly forced into the female die.- The centering disk 92 also serves to strip a cup leather from the plunger die in the event that I die on the return stroke thereof.

When a cup leather has been carried by the table from the loading station'to the point where it is ejected from the female die by theaction of the cam .33, the cup leather head will to provide a 7 leather in this manner, it is so I the cup leather sticks to' the is constantly driven) will be automatically discharged from the tableinto a container. Referring to Figs. 6 and 8, this discharging means consists of an arm 94 pivotally mounted at 95 and arranged so that when the table is at rest with a cup leather raised to the top of the table, the cup leather will be disposed in close proximity to the arm 94, which when swung outwardly in a quick movement, will throw the cup leather from the table into a suitable container 96. This movement of the arm 94 is automatically effected by movement of the block 62 adjacent to the cup leather to be discharged, which block will, upon initial movement of the table, actuate a roller equipped arm 97 disposed in its path and rigidly connected to the arm 9% so as to swing the same outwardly. A contractile spring 98 connected with the upper end of the pivot bolt 95 will return the arm 94 to normal position which is limited by abut ment of the said arm 94 against a stop 99 depending from the frame extension 26.

The operation of my improvements is as follows: The forming machine 11 being put into operation will, as described in my patent mentioned above, form a blank of leather into cup shape and w ll automatically repeat this operation, allowing an interval of time between each forming operation without stopping the machine, sufficient to remove the formed cup from the machine and place anew blank thereon. A formed blank removed from the machine is immediately placed by the operator on the centering holder 92, and shortly thereafter the cam 53 of the forming machine will automatically cause the drive pulley 41 (which to be connected to the crank shaft 38 through the intermediary of the link and lever connections and clutch connection described above. The crank shaft will be rotated one revolution during which the compressing head will be lowered and raised, whereupon the crank will be automatically stopped by disengagement of the dog 42 from the drive wheel as described. As the plunger descends, the sleeve 86 of the male die will enter within the flange of the cup leather and force the same down through the bushing 93 and into the female die to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9. The final downward movement of the plunger will impose considerable pressure on the cup leather so as to compress the same very tightly between the walls of the dies and thus reset the fibers of the leather. Simultaneously with this setting or shaping action, the knife 91 is forced through the cup leather'cutting out a central aperture therein, which completes the shaping of a cup leather. It will be noted that by reason of the resiliently yieldable mounting of the male die the pressure brought to bear on the cup leather will be no greater than the pressure of the spring 87. Because of this resilient action of the male die. there is no possibility of injuring the fibers of the leather, and also, the cutting action of the knife 91 is easily effected regardless of slight variations in thickness of the leather. The force of the plunger in its compressing stroke as brought to bear upon the table, is resisted by the brace or support 19 disposed directly beneath the plunger. Upon raising the plunger the male die withdraws from the cup leather leaving the same in the female die. During the initial raising movement of the plunger the stop bar 59 will be withdrawn from the adjacent block 62 and at a slight interval thereafter, when the lower edge of the male die has been raised above the top of the table, the same will be automatically indexed, that is, moved in a clockwise direction, to carry the next succeeding female die to the loading station, this indexing being efiected through means of the parts 23, 25, 67, 71 and 73 is described above. The stop rod 59 will drop into stopping position immediately after ried from beneath the rod, and the spring 27 will retract the clutch element 23 several notches so that upon the next actuation of the plunger the table will be again indexed. The cup leather just described remains in the female die until the same is carried in step by step movements to the discharge station and while in the die the cup leather will become further set in position by reason of its being held therein by the walls of the die and of the drying action by exposure to air and also by the action of the heating medium within the table if such is desired. The manner of automatically discharging the cup leather from the table has been described above, and it will be noted that a cup leather is discharged at each indexing movement (if the table.

From the foregoing, it will be manifest that by combining a forming and reshaping machine in the manufacture of cup leathers, a material savin is effected in. the time required for manu acturing a given number of these articles, and the resultant articles are uniform and complete in every respect requiring no further working or treatment. The machines being automatically operated require little or no attention on the part of an operator, his attention being only required to supply blanks of leather to the forming machine and to transfer the formed blanks therefrom to the reshaping machne. It will be noted that the reshaping is efi ected mainlyby a simple compressing action in which the cup leather is forcibly confined between the walls of die members and that the stop block has been carthe cup leather is ejected from the die With out liability of flaring or deranging the cup leather as might occur in removing or Witlr drawal of the revolving female die from the cup leather in the forming machine.

It is believed that this conveys a clear understanding of my invention and accomplishes the objects prefaced above, and it should be understood that While I have shown for purpose of'illustration but a single embodiment of the invention various modifications and changes in details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its material advantages.

I claim:

' 1. In apparatus for making cup leathers, the combination of a rotary table provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced cup dies, a reciprocable plunger die disposed at a loading station and adapted to press a cup leather into a cup die, stationary means for supporting a cup leather at the loading station interposed between the plunger die and cup die so that the cup leather Will be pressed by the plunger die into the cup die, and means for rotating the table in step by step movements to move the cup dies in succession to the loading station. 7

2. A machine for reshaping cup leathers, comprising a rotary table provided with a plurality of cup dies adapted to be moved in succession by rotation of the table to a loading station, a reciprocable plunger adapted to press a cup leather into a cup (lie at the loading station, a stationary cu leather support at the loading station adapted to hold and center a cup leather above 'a cup die in the path of the plunger so that the cup leather will be centrally engaged thereby and pressed into a cup die, and means for rotating the table to move the next succeeding cup die to the loading station after the plunger has been Withdrawn leaving the formed cup. leather in the preceding cup die.

3. A power operated cup forming machine, said machine being constructed and arranged to form blanks of leatherinto cup shape With a dwell between successive cup forming operations sufficient to permit an operative to remove a shaped blank from and insert a new blank in the machine and place the shaped link in a reshaping machine, in combination with a power operated machine adapted to reshape the cups formed by the cup forming machine With a dWell between successive reshaping operations sutficient to permit an operative to place a cup Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the .mgly urging from the cup forming machine in the re-- shaping machine, the operation of the reshaping machine being controlled by the operation of the cup forming machine in such manner that the dWellsbetWeen successivereshaping operations will occur simultane onsly with the dwells between successive cup forming operations.

at. The combination With atcd machine for forming leather blanks into cup leathers, of a series of cup dies adapted to each receive a cup leather after it has been formed by said forming machine, a compressing die disposed at a loading station and adapted to press a formed cup leather into a cup die, and means con trolled by the cup forming machine for successively operating the compressing die and moving a cup die away from the loading station and another to the same during the time that the cup forming machine is operating to form a cup from a blank.

5. The combination of a power operated machine "for forming blanks into cup shape, a machine for reshaping the cups formed b the cup forming machine, and means controlling the operation of the reshaping machine by the operation of the cup forming machine so that during the interval between successive shaping operations of the cup forming machine an operative may take a shaped cu -from the forming machine and,

placc it immediately in the reshaping matchine, the latter machine being inoperative during such interval and operated to reshape the cup while the forming machine is operating to form another cup from a blank.

In a machine for reshaping cup leathers, the combination of a cup'die adapted to receive a formed cup pressing die adapted to compress a cu v in the cup die comprising a plunger body, a head forming the compressing dieelement and mounted on the plunger so as to be movable axiallythereupon, and means yieldthe die element axially in one that the compressing action of direction so the plunger compressing die in the compressing action through the agency of said yieldin means. 7. In a machine for forming cup eathers, the combination of a cup die, a compressing die adapted to enter the cu die for shape ing a cup leather therein, and means interposed between die' for holding die in position pressing die and serving also as a stripper when the compressing die is Withdrawn.

Bonner Minna. v

acup leather over the cup to be engaged by the coin- Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 1). C.

a power cper- 7 leather, and a combody will be transmitted to the the cup die and compressing, 

